The Teachings of Jesus: Overview

Because there’s a lot to discuss, I will divide Jesus’ teachings into three parts:  Overview, The Parables and Significant Encounters. 

So, let’s start with the Overview.  Basically, it comes down to two main concepts: (1) Keep your eyes on the prize; you are here on earth for the blink of an eye, but there’s a forever waiting for you and it’s going to be wonderful—don’t lose sight of it. (2) With #1 in mind, let’s help each other get there. 

These two concepts are repeated multiple times by Jesus; you can see them laid-out plainly in the Lord’s Prayer. (Matt. 6:9–13 and Luke 11:2–4).

You can also see them in Luke 10:25–28: A lawyer asks Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” The answer: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”  (Repeated at Mark 12:28-31 and Matt. 22:37-40)

It’s hard to overstate how radical these two concepts were—the Jewish Torah does not propose an afterlife.  And—up to that time—it was considered a blessing to be successful and wealthy; God loved you, which was why you had been given a life of ease. But Jesus turned that idea upside-down when he recited the Beatitudes: Blessed are the meek; the peacemakers; the clean of heart; the merciful; the poor in spirit. (Matt. 5:3-12)

And the idea that we should love and serve our enemies with the same fervor that we love and serve our neighbors was unheard of; again, there was the general feeling that God must love you best if you were successful at clobbering your enemies. But Jesus taught that every person is of infinite value to God, regardless of their background, status, or past. (“Even the hairs on your head have all been counted.” Luke 12:7)  He emphasized that God’s love and salvation are available to all—rich and poor, sinners and outcasts—because "the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." (Luke 19:10) Therefore we should forgive others, not be envious, and humbly serve the least of society—the hungry, the homeless, the imprisoned—as if we were serving Jesus himself. (Matt. 6:14–15; 25:31–46)

Two simple concepts, but not so simple to put them into practice, right? So Jesus very helpfully gave us examples—The Parables, which we will look at next time.